North Macedonia v Scotland: Three stats and three bets for Saturday's match

Scotland v Switzerland - Can Scots get a goal?

Click here for North Macedonia v Scotland odds
19:45 kick-off
Live on BBC Two

Scotland were beaten 3-0 by Switzerland in boss Sebastien Pocognoli's first home match in charge on Tuesday. Their chances were hampered from the 11th minute when Jack Hendry was sent off.

The defeat to the Swiss followed a 0-0 draw in Slovenia last weekend. Appointing Pocognoli was a gamble for the SFA and, if results so far are anything to go by, it might be a while before it starts to pay off.

A trip to North Macedonia, who also lost 3-0 at home to Switzerland and then went down 2-0 in Slovenia, could be just what the Scots need. The market thinks so and makes the visitors 7/101.70 favourites to win, with the hosts 4/15.00 and the draw 5/23.50. On the other hand, being expected to win brings pressure, which might be exactly what Scotland don't need at the moment.

How will North Macedonia v Scotland play out? Can the visitors end their goal drought? Is the market underestimating the hosts? If so, are the Scots about to reach a new low early in their manager's reign? There's plenty on the line in Skopje on Saturday.

Below are three pertinent stats from Opta and related bets.

Read Lewis Jones' in-depth preview and get his best bets for Croatia v England

North Macedonia v Scotland Bet #1 - Back under 1.5 goals

Neither side has scored a goal yet in the Nations League so far this season. Of the pair, Scotland have had 13 shots to North Macedonia's six, while when it comes to shots on target it is 5-1 in Scotland's favour.

North Macedonia v Scotland Bet #2 - Back narrow win for Scots

North Macdeonia and Scotland have played each other on three previous occasions. The first meeting was in 2009, when Scotland were hosts and won 2-0. The teams drew 1-1 the next time in Scotland in 2012. Last time they met, Scotland travelled to North Macedonia and beat them 2-1. Victory by a one goal margin could be the way to go again in Skopje on Saturday.

North Macedonia v Scotland Bet #3 - Back half-time 0-0

North Macedonia managed to get to half-time without conceding against Slovenia in their last match. They can take heart from that and should try to frustrate goal-shy Scotland in the opening 45 minutes on Saturday.

Now read more Saturday tips including Croatia v England